Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Brings Faster Charging to Smartphones with Snapdragon 820 and Other new SoCs

Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology has been well received by consumers, helping them charge faster their smartphones faster. So if batteries aren’t getting revolutionized, at least there are solutions which help us charge our devices quicker.

The chip making company has now announced the Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology will be featured in its next line of Snapdragon processors, including the Snapdragon 820. The new technology comes with a couple of important improvements that add even more value to Qualcomm’s chips.

Quick Charge 3.0 is using for the first time a new algorithm called ‘Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV), which “allows portable devices the ability to determine what power level to request at any point in time for optimum power transfer, while maximizing efficiency,” as Qualcomm puts it.

The company also claims that this new technology allows you to “charge a typical phone from zero to 80 percent in about 35 minutes compared to conventional mobile devices without Quick Charge that may typically require almost an hour and a half“. This is impressive indeed, but we’re not sure what exactly is Qualcomm referring to when it says ‘typical phone’.

Quick Charge 3.0 is said to be up to 38 percent more efficient than Quick Charge 2.0, and it’s also getting improvements that allow it to help protect the battery cycle life. Furthermore, Quick Charge 3.0 is said to improve fast charging up to 27% or reduces power dissipation by up to 45% when compared to Quick Charge 2.0 and it also charges up to 2x faster than Quick Charge 1.0.

Quick Charge 3.0 will be featured as an option on several Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, including Snapdragon 820, 620, 618, 617 and 430, and is said to make its way into smartphones in 2016. Alex Katouzian, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, said the following:

We are significantly enhancing the capabilities and benefits offered by Quick Charge 3.0 to bring robust fast charging technology to all. Quick Charge 3.0 addresses a primary consumer challenge with today’s mobile devices in helping users restore battery life quickly and efficiently, and does so through leading technology and a robust ecosystem including leading device and accessory OEMs.

Quick Charge 3.0 also includes enhanced flexibility over Quick Charge 2.0, allowing the device to request just enough voltage to reach the desired charge current. Quick Charge 3.0 also maintains forward and backward compatibility with previous versions of Quick Charge as well as with connectors, including USB Type-C.